Rush

need. I
     don’t want anyone to see you this way. It would raise a lot of questions and I don’t
     want anyone to see you so upset. As soon as you’re ready, I want you to go back to
     my apartment and stay there until I get home.”
    Fear and concern flashed in her eyes.
    “Where will you be?”
    He put a finger to her lips, indulging in their velvety softness. He traced the bow
     of her mouth and then followed it with a brief kiss.
    “I’m going to ensure that Charles Willis never threatens you again.”

chapter thirty-six
    Gabe got out of the car on Lexington Avenue in front of the small office building
     that housed Charles Willis’s suite of offices, and he strode toward the entrance,
     his hands coiled into tight fists.
    He’d bundled Mia into a car and sent her home after she’d ridded herself of all traces
     of upset, and after he’d asked her to describe the photos Charles had shown her in
     exacting detail.
    Charles’s office was on the first floor, space he shared with another company because
     he wasn’t often in New York City. His worldwide construction company had many offices
     around the globe, but Gabe would never do business with the man again. If it weren’t
     for the fact that Charles’s company employed a lot of people—good people who depended
     on him to support their families—Gabe would utterly shut him down and run him out
     of business.
    As it was, he’d never have anything personally or professionally to do with the man
     again.
    Gabe strode past the startled receptionist and opened Charles’s door with a bang.
     Charles looked up, startled, from his desk and Gabe saw a hint of fear flash in the
     other man’s eyes before he rose to his feet and masked his features.
    “Gabe,” he said in a cordial voice. “What can I do for you?”
    Gabe slammed the door shut behind him and stared intently at Charles as he walked
     forward. He never lifted his gaze, and Charles was visibly uncomfortable with Gabe’s
     scrutiny.
    “You fucked up this time, Charles,” Gabe said softly. “You touched what is mine. You
     put your hands on her. You hurt her. You frightened her. You
threatened
her.”
    Charles battled his obvious panic and then arrogantly shrugged his shoulders. “She’s
     just another whore. What do you care?”
    Gabe flew at him in rage, drawing back his fist. He punched the other man in the mouth,
     sending him reeling into the bookcase behind his desk. Charles’s hand flew to his
     mouth and when it came away, it was smeared with blood.
    “I’ll have you arrested for assault!” Charles raged. “You can’t come in here and hit
     me!”
    “You fucking piece of shit. You’re lucky I don’t kill you with my bare hands,” Gabe
     seethed out. “If you
breathe
in Mia’s direction again, I will ruin you. When I’m finished with you, you will have
     nothing. No credibility. No backing. No contracts. Nothing at all.”
    Panic leached all the color from Charles’s face.
    “I’ll go public with those photos!” he threatened, babbling out the words like an
     incoherent drunk.
    Gabe went still, his nostrils flaring. “You do that, Charles. Make those photos public.
     I’ll have you charged with rape. It’s precisely what you tried to do to her, and those
     photos prove it. I don’t give a shit what it does to me or my reputation. But I won’t
     have Mia hurt or humiliated by you or anyone else. I’ll nail your ass to the wall
     and you’ll spend the next several years in prison being a fuck toy for your cell mate.
     If you don’t believe me, just try me.”
    His voice was full of menace. And conviction. If Charles didn’t believe Gabe, he was
     a fool. Gabe had never been more serious in his life.
    Charles paled and realization set in, his eyes flashing with recognition. Gabe was
     absolute and Charles knew it.
    “I will spend every penny I own ensuring that you lose everything you have,” Gabe
     continued. “And I have a lot of connections. A lot of favors owed to me that I’m more
     than willing to collect now.”
    Charles looked as though he wanted to faint. He tried to pick himself up from where
     he’d slid down the bookcase, but he wobbled and couldn’t gain his footing.
    “I’m sorry,” he blurted out. “I was desperate. I knew you wouldn’t give me the bid
     after what happened. I need that deal, Gabe. I have to have it.”
    Gabe held out his hand to help Charles to his feet. Charles stared warily at him but
     finally slid his hand